Lt. Cmdr. Rory Berke, far left, and Professor Brendan Doherty from the Naval Academy Political Science Department stand with 24 Midshipmen, from Doherty’s course on the legislative process in Congress, in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 21. The group spent the day touring the Capitol and speaking with congressional aides. Photo courtesy of Brendan Doherty.

The trip was part of a course taught by Doherty entitled ‘‘The Politics of the Legislative Process.” According to Doherty, the course is designed to teach the Mids about how power in Congress is acquired, distributed and utilized, and this trip was used to enrich what is discussed in the classroom setting.

Doherty served as a fellow in the Senate through the American Political Science Association for one year prior to teaching at the Naval Academy and was able to call on former colleagues to arrange this trip. He usually teaches a course on the presidency which includes a similar day trip to the White House.

‘‘It was an inside view into how things truly work because, as much as I can convey to them the workings of the Capitol from here in Annapolis, there’s no substitute for going there and hearing that firsthand,” said Doherty.

Once in D.C., the group started with a tour of the Capitol, including the rotunda and the old Senate and House chambers. The Midshipmen also explored one of the Senate office buildings and visited the offices of Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.), both Naval Academy graduates.

The Midshipmen then entered into what Doherty referred to as the ‘‘heart of the trip” – a series of meetings with several staffers.

‘‘The tour of the Capitol was interesting, and it was fun to look around the Congressional Office Buildings to see how different Congressmen decorated their offices, but the time we spent with staffers in panel was the best part,” said Midn. 1⁄C Marley Cassels. ‘‘Some of the staffers we spoke to were only a couple of years older than us and had really interesting stories of how they got their jobs.”

There were six staffers, three Democrats and three Republicans, including the legislative directors for Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), staff members from the Senate Armed Services and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees, the senior counsel and policy advisor for the Senate majority leader and the national security advisor for the Senate minority leader.

‘‘We had the opportunity to see firsthand how Congress interacts with the executive branch and how drafted bills are made into policy,” said Midn. 1⁄C Matthew Curley. ‘‘It is crucial, especially as service men and women, to have an understanding of how government works.”

The staffers discussed various issues with the Midshipmen from the day-to-day life of a legislative staffer to the workings of the Senate Armed Services and the Senate Select Intelligence Committees to questions of war and peace and Congress’ role in making decisions regarding the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘‘It was great to be able to hear about the legislative process from those who actually make it run,” said Midn. 1⁄C Justin North.

‘‘This trip ties into the mission of the Naval Academy, especially in the area of developing Midshipmen mentally, by helping them to truly understand how the dynamics of political power work in American politics,” said Doherty. ‘‘It helps bring all sorts of things alive for them which will help them be better Naval officers and better citizens.”